1. Technical Field
This invention is directed to telephone terminals and more particularly, to a telephone terminal having menu screens that are secured at the terminal through a locking arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Current trends in the design of telephone terminals indicate that more and more telephone functionality is being integrated into the telephone display. For example, information as to the features available on the display has migrated from LEDs to the display, and local additions such as directories, status inspection, incoming caller information etc., are all migrating to the display.
The technology presently in use in telephone displays is character-based liquid crystal device (LCD) displays. These displays are configured in various array sizes such as, for example, 2 line by 24 character LCD and 2 line by 40 character LCD. In order to be aesthetically pleasing when incorporated into the telephone housing, these displays tend to be small, typically on the order of one inch in height. Also, in order to provide a reasonable number of characters for information such as caller information and directory access information, a small font size for the characters is generally used.
Many interactive display arrangements available today permit accessing the features available on the display through softkeys. In order to provide a high level of functionally with a sufficient level of clarity in these displays, many softkey label screen prompts have heretofore been provided for accessing the available features. Although these screen prompts are provided to improve clarity and ease of use of the display as a user of the telephone terminal moves about in the hierarchy of menu screens, often they tend to be confusing as well.
An available feature currently being provided in display arrangements is one which allows the user to lock a particular softkey function on the telephone terminal. Before permitting a user to access a locked softkey function, however, display arrangements in the prior art require the user to navigate in the hierarchy of menu screens to a section of the menu where this function may be unlocked. This section of the menu is different from the section of the menu in which the locked function is accessed.
Similarly, after unlocking the function, the user must then move to the section in the menu having the function that he or she wishes to access. After accessing the function, should the user desire to relock it, he or she must return to that section in the menu where this function may again be locked. It is desirable, therefore, that an interactive display arrangement arranged for limiting access to certain softkey functions on the telephone terminal allows a legitimate user to be able to easily gain access to these functions without undue confusion.